The Ciara Phelan Podcast: Mary McEvoy on her eating disorder, depression and Gay Byrne's help

Actress Mary McEvoy; at The Mill Theatre Dundrum. Picture: Naoise Culhane

Actress Mary McEvoy has told how she struggled with fame as a result of playing Biddy Byrne inGlenroe and said it was the late Gay Byrne who first noticed she wasn’t herself.

Ms McEvoy also spoke about how she developed an eating disorder as she tried to cope with depression, how bullying impeded her taking another career path and how Pilates has changed her life.

Speaking on The Ciara Phelan Podcast, Ms McEvoy said she “hadn’t a clue” how to deal with the fame of Glenroe and really only enjoyed the initial attraction it brought.

 

She said while Glenroe was airing, celebrity culture was only beginning and “you do end up being a little bit like a hunted animal”.

“It was very hard. I remember sometimes going ‘who can help me here’.” She said Joe Lynch, who played Dinny in Glenroe, and broadcaster Gay Byrne supported her.

“Anytime I met him [Gay Byrne], he was the first person to notice I wasn’t myself and the first person who ever said, ‘are you alright?’ and he was always very kind to me, and I’ll never forget [that].” Ms McEvoy, who has previously spoken about her mental health struggles, said it was only this year that she had seen her mental health “bob up”.

Gay Byrne: 'Anytime I met him [Gay Byrne], he was the first person to notice I wasn’t myself and the first person who ever said, ‘are you alright?’ and he was always very kind to me.'

“I’m one of the lucky ones when I get into a depressive period, I have kind of a real blood and guts desire to survive and I’ve never considered you know, taking my own life.

“I often had a fleeting thing of 'I can really understand why people want everything to end' but I’ve never wanted to myself because I’m too curious.” She said taking a step back since covid-19 and choosing work that gives her pleasure has improved her well-being.

“It’s only really this year that I’m seeing my mental health bob up,” she said.

It’s not to say I was down all the time but that awful anxiety all of the time that was there, constantly it was horrendous.. to a degree that has stopped.

Ms McEvoy said when previously coping with depression, she developed an eating disorder and her weight “went up” to a degree that was life-threatening.

On the podcast, she tells how she turned this around and the “eating to fill the void has stopped completely”.

Ms McEvoy also speaks about practising Buddhism and how it informs everything she does in life. She also discloses how bullying impacted her career and much more.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article and podcast, please visit our list of support services.

The Ciara Phelan Podcast goes live at 9am every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.

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